As January already draws to a close, I’m still playing catch-up on last year.
Here’s recommendations for 10 of the best 2025 projects that you may have missed.
nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/29/2...
The latest single from Merseyside’s @dreammachinehq.bsky.social sees them take on the wall of sound, with the bittersweet beauty of a 60’s girl group.
Frontman, Zak McDonnell, tells us about his essential Phil Spector productions.
Read here 👉 nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/25/a...
Released OTD in 2024: Bruiser Wolf - My Story Got Stories
A step forward from one of rap’s most unique voices.
Revisit our review👇
🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2024/01/23/a...
2025 in Review - Our top 50 albums, top 20 EPs, and most overrated picks. Plus 8 hours+ of the year’s best tunes selected in our Big 2025 playlist. 👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2026/01/02/2...
No.26 in our top albums of 2025 was Let Me Out by hip-hop experimentalists Fatboi Sharif & Driveby.
“A disconcerting but utterly compelling album”
Read our full review 🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/27/a...
No.34 in our albums of the year was the latest from The Walkmen frontman, Hamilton Leithauser.
“An enjoyably ragged collection that compliments the untamed charm of one of this century’s great rock voices”
Read our full review🔗 nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/09/a...
Bon Iver’s latest album clocked in at no.24 in our top albums of 2025.
SABLE, fABLE is both a paean to the transformative power of love, and a caution against such over-romanticised cliché.
Read more in our full review👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/06/16/a...
From breakout rap stars to the next big things in indie rock. Check out our top 20 EPs/short projects of 2025👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...
Surprised to see the latest Self Esteem album pop in a couple of EOY lists. Felt like a fairly obvious jumping the shark moment.
Here was our take👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/29/a...
The big reunion of 2025 saw Oasis conveniently ignore their later catalogue. While unlikely to fuel the same nostalgia, there is the odd gem to uncover from that period.
Revisit our look at a psychedelic oddity unlike anything else in their catalogue. 👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/07/31/t...
One of 2025’s most slept on albums. Our no.3 for the year. Pale Black Negative by Rhys Langston.
The genre-abolitionist delivers a boundary-blurring opus that is as accessible as it is inventive.
Read our review to find out more: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/07/03/a...
Benjamin’s Booker’s LOWER was our top album of 2025.
Revisit our review to find out why: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/04/04/a...
I actually quite like them and still think that is a completely accurate description.
🎧 2025 gave us plenty of great music… and plenty of hype. Not all of it earned.
🔥 Time for some hot takes with our pick of 2025’s most overrated albums👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...
3 months too late, the vid for "Psychic Rhyming Like Kings Shining" feat. Andrew Mbaruk is out now
no fake entelechy utilized in this handcrafted reel music movie:
I frame-by-frame animated these lyric cut outs, and sorted through hours of archival footage to collage so
youtu.be/OhzAxk3vm9c?...
🎧Our Top 50 Albums of 2025🎧
Some obvious, some hidden gems.
What did we miss?
👇
Hey, you gotta take your wins where you get them! HUGE thank you to @nofrillsreviews.com for putting MY VERSION OF DESIRE as their #32 best records of 2025. Big fan of their work and it’s truly humbling to be included amongst such great company. ❤️
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/21/2...
Annoyingly, Wordpress doesn’t have the option to easily embed Apple links. Would have included otherwise, but I was too lazy to rework the whole format of it.
No Frills Reviews Top 50 Albums of 2025
Out full top 50 countdown is up on the blog now. Check if your favourites made it and discover some hidden gems along the way.
Read Here: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/21/2...
Watched the new Chapelle special. Not funny BTW, but also absolutely all over the place ideologically.
Like he so badly wants to be an “important” voice, but it’s so messy that it ends up completely lacking in substance.
The debut from enigmatic scouse rapper, EsDeeKid (not Timothée Chalamet) features in our top EPs of 2025.
Full top 20 here: nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...
Part 2 of our albums of the year is up now, with numbers 30-11.
Featuring some familiar names and some hidden gems. Check it out👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/19/2...
No Frills Reviews’ Albums of the Year
I’m still fleshing out a top 50, but because I’m disorganised let’s do a count-up rather than the logical count-down. Our top 10 is up now on the link👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/16/2...
My ninth annual Xmas song is up on my bandcamp now faithfuljohannes.bandcamp.com/track/when-i...
It's called When It Snows. It's got lots of seventh chords.
Video soon. Streams on Friday. Gateshead xmas songs set on the 20th
Cc: @dreammachinehq.bsky.social
Wrote a bit on our top EPs/short projects of 2025. From breakout rap stars to the next big things in indie rock. Check out the full top 20👇
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/12/05/2...
Already sick of the end-of-year list hype. We have an antidote with … another list.
It’s our most overrated albums of 2025. Did your favourite make it?
nofrillsreviews.com/2025/11/30/2...
They have actually grown on me. But the level of hype is slightly bizarre. Surely everyone is hearing the same vocals.
I actually kind of like them, but that still may be the most accurate description I’ve ever written.
Much as they’ve actually grown on me, they were really the only choice here.
